6th of the 6th..I've been tagged.

littlechrissy has tagged me ... the rules are that you must go to your computer photo files, find the 6th folder, and the 6th photo in it must be displayed and written about. Then tag 6 more people to do the same.


So here goes....


Well the 6th file is named matsurii which means festival in Japanese. The 6th picture would have to be the worst in this file and for a moment I even considered cheating but instead have decided to go through my photos from Japan and feature them each Friday.


Each year there are festivals in just about every town in Japan, this photo was taken at the annual festival in Hitachi City. The photo is titled 'Aomori dance'. Most areas have a unique dance. The dance of Aomori is quite famous and can often be seen in other areas of Japan.

So now to continue the game I tag caffeinated prints, Little Jane St, Taryn Newland, La maison SUR LA COLLINE, Twinke Star Art and Paisley st claire.

meet Pochi...

..the new member of our family.

Pochi 7 weeks

We've been talking about getting a puppy for at least 6 years now. At Christmas time we met one week old Pochi and his siblings at my parent's place. We quickly decided that it was time we finally followed through with our little dream of getting a puppy and chose Pochi. My parents kindly delivered him 2 weeks ago when they came to visit us and our life has not been the same since! It's better..much better! I've yet to capture him properly through the lens as he is always on the go and when he's asleep I need a rest as well. He is Border Collie crossed with Sheltie so he is not going to stay small for long. Anyway, I just wanted to share our new friend...

Wednesdays at Designers Emporium

Melrose Lilac - Dog Collar

More news! I've been asked to be a regular contributor over at the designers emporium blog. I plan on featuring Australian designers, artists and crafters every Wednesday and have started with Alison from Pret a pawte. I met Alison on Saturday at the monthly Bris Style meet up. She makes gorgeous fabric dog and cat collars like the one above. So head over here or here to read more.

Mod Squad

Late last year I was invited to take part in a travelling exhibition called Mod Squad. Opening night was last Wednesday at Logan Art Gallery. I'm so excited to be exhibiting along side artists & designers who I've admired for several years. The exhibition continues to 14 March 2009, then heads to Cairns Regional Gallery and Redcliffe City Art Gallery. I will post the dates closer to the opening nights.

Logan Art Gallery - Cnr Wembley Rd & Jacaranda Ave, Logan Central QLD 4114
Open 10am to 5pm Tuesday to Saturday.

sorbet lolly cubes and pendant

( photo courtesy of Sally Flynn from Flight Industries )

Mod Squad Exhibitors:

Ari Athans + Jenni Baxter + Jason Bird + Bruce Carrick + Craig Flood + Surya Graf + Marc Harrison + Barbara Heath + Jill Kinnear + Lasse Kinnunen + Nicole Lacey + Susan Lincoln + Alexander Lotersztain + Paul Morris + Luis Nheu + Bjorn Rust + David Shaw + Elizabeth Shaw + Brian Steendyk

all you need is love...

...and chocolate!

I received a stack of my favourite chocolate..mmmm....

if you haven't tried the Lindt Dark Orange Intense yet, I highly recommend it.

Ceropegia Woodil commonly known as 'chain of hearts'...

Happy belated Valentines Day, I hope everyone had a special day with their special someones!

Some of you may have noticed that I've been quite slack over the last couple of weeks. I was offered 2 days teaching a week starting last Monday. As I've been working on hot toffee full time for the last 3 years it may take me a while to get the balance right but I definitely intend to do so.

Also some exciting things have happened in the past couple of weeks which I have yet to mention so will do my best to catch up this week starting tomorrow, so please check back during the week.

a fond farewell

Tomorrow I will be having a stall at the 'designers emporium market' . It is the last market to be held by 'designers emporium' so please come along and help us farewell what has been a great monthly market. Leasl and Rachael will be investigating further avenues to explore our marketplace in the virtual world....... so stay tuned!

Where: Everton Park Hotel. 101 Flockton St, Everton Park, Brisbane 4053

When: Sunday 1st Feb , 9am - 1pm

lolly cube studs

the calm before the storm..

This photo was taken last Sunday just moments before the flags were pulled down, swimmers ordered out of the water due to lightning and a heavy down pour of rain. I LOVE rain and all the things that it brings, the colour change in the sky, umbrellas, people having to change their plans - it's one of the few things in life that can make us just stop and I love that!

Study Tours have finished until March so I am now catching up on emails, hot toffee and preparing for an upcoming exhibition in early February. I have quite a few things planned for the year and will do my best to document them here.

taking a rest..

sleeping koala at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

kangaroo at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

I haven't been blogging for about 1 week now as I am currently teaching a group of Chinese children who are in Australia on a study tour. We have classes in the mornings and then we go on excursions in the afternoons. As there are 30 children (aged 8-12) you can imagine it is quite full on..lots of fun ...but full on! My intention was to come home each evening and reply to emails, list items on etsy and keep my blog up to date..but I have been so exhausted when I get home that there is no chance of any of that happening. I will basically be out of action until the end of January. I do get Sundays off so may pop in again next week...until then I hope everyone is happy, healthy and enjoying 2009 so far.

JUST. ADD. PAPER.

I LOVE it! I came across these calenders by little brown pen on etsy on Thursday and couldn't resist buying one. The concept is great. You are sent a PDF file and are able to print your own. It was fast, affordable and the designs are lovely. As an added bonus they are having a PROMO at the moment where you get a free calender with any purchase! Little Brown Pen also have a range of printable note cards, gift tags and stationery.

calenders by little brown pen

happy new year...LIVE WHAT YOU LOVE

I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday. We spent Christmas with my family by the beach and then did a little camping at Girraween National Park before spending a quiet but lovely New Years Eve at home cooking, reminiscing about 2008 and planning for 2009.

my new moleskine diary

(Christmas present from my sweet sweet sister)

The last couple of days have been spent slowly getting back into a routine... which can prove quite challenging when working from home. This year I definitely intend to focus more on getting my life balance a little healthier and living the life I want. This will be my mantra...

LIVE WHAT YOU LOVE

Live What You Love - letterpress print by hijirik